[Cryptography] Equation Group Multiple Malware Program, NSA Implicated

[Bill Frantz]

On 2/16/15 at 1:17 PM, fergdawgster at mykolab.com (Paul Ferguson) wrote:

>>GETTING THE SOURCE CODE
>>
>>Raiu said the authors of the spying programs must have had access
>>to
>the proprietary source code that directs the actions of the hard
>drives. That code can serve as a roadmap to vulnerabilities, allowing
>those who study it to launch attacks much more easily.
>>
>>"There is zero chance that someone could rewrite the [hard drive]
>operating system using public information," Raiu said.

While I agree that getting the source code by asking for it, 
perhaps as part of a security review, is the most likely route, 
I really think the NSA could reverse engineer hard drive control 
code. My guess is that reverse engineering is much easier than 
decrypting Verona. This technique might be useful for a secret 
foreign piece of hardware.

Cheers - Bill

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